Overnight, Ethiopia declared a national day of mourning for Monday amid a global stream of condolences for loved ones, many of whom gathered in tears at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

“Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO deeply regrets the fatal accident involved on ET 302/March 10 on a scheduled flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi,” it said on its Facebook page.

“The group CEO who is at the accident scene right now regrets to confirm that there are no survivors.

All 157 people on board were killed. Picture: Jemal Countess/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

“He expresses his profound sympathy and condolences to the families and loved ones of passengers and crew who lost their lives in this tragic accident.”

Ethiopia’s state broadcaster Fana Broadcasting Corporate said the passengers included 33 nationalities.

“The plane was already on fire when it crashed to the ground. The crash caused a big explosion,” Tegegn Dechasa recounted at the site littered with passenger belongings, human remains and aeroplane parts around a massive crater at the point of impact.

“The plane was in flames in its rear side shortly before the crash. The plane was swerving erratically before the crash.”

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was brand new, delivered to state-owned Ethiopian Airways on November 15, said the carrier, Africa’s largest.

HOW IT UNFOLDED

Ethiopian Airlines said the plane had taken off at 8.38am (0538 GMT) from Bole International Airport and “lost contact” roughly six minutes later.

It came down near Tulu Fara village outside the town of Bishoftu. The carrier, which changed its logo on Twitter to black and white from its trademark green, yellow, and red, said “there are no survivors”.

“We can only hope that she is not on that flight,” Peter Kimani, who had come to fetch his sister at Nairobi’s JKIA, told AFP after news of the disaster reached those waiting in the arrivals hall.

A day of national morning has been declared in Ethiopia. Picture: Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press via APSource:AP

Loved ones were later brought to the Sheraton Hotel where they were debriefed and offered counselling. Journalists were not allowed in but could hear sobbing from inside.

For one family member in Nairobi, however, there was a happy ending.

Khalid Ali Abdulrahman was waiting for his son who works in Dubai and feared the worst when a security official told him the plane had crashed.

“I was shocked, but shortly after, my son contacted me and told me he is still in Addis and did not board that flight. He is waiting for the second one which has been delayed,” he said.

DIASTER FOR THE UN

The passengers included “at least a dozen” UN-affiliated staff headed for an annual assembly of the UN Environment Program, which opens in Nairobi on Monday with some 700 heads of state, ministers, business leaders, senior UN officials and civil society representatives, a UN source told AFP.

The cause of the crash is still unclear. Picture: Facebook via APSource:AP

“Deeply saddened by the news this morning of the plane crash in Ethiopia, claiming the lives of all on board. My heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of all the victims — including our own @UN staff — who perished in this tragedy,” tweeted UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Some of the UN staff were from the World Food Program and UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the agencies said.

Ethiopian and American investigators would investigate the crash, said Mr GebreMariam.

— with AFP

Ethiopian Plane Crash – All 157 passengers killed1:06

An Ethiopian Airlines flight has tragically gone down with all 157 people killed only 6 minutes into a trip to Nairobi.